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FALL 1998
9. Buddhism is a philosophy.
The terms “philosophy” and “religion” need to be scrutinized in applying either one to non-Western traditions. But
to claim that Buddhism is not a religion because is really about no-self and nirvana is to demean the daily life of
millions of Asians across the centuries. Buddhism is a religion, by any definition of that indefinable term.
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. His most
recent book is Religions of Tibet in Practice and Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West
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